10 things you need to know today: November 27, 2019

1. House Judiciary Committee invites Trump to impeachment hearing

The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday sent President Trump a letter inviting him to participate in the panel's first impeachment hearing, set for Dec. 4. The committee's chair, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), said he told Trump in the letter that the committee's rules allow his counsel to question witnesses. "The president has a choice to make: He can take this opportunity to be represented in the impeachment hearings, or he can stop complaining about the process," Nadler said in a statement. "I hope that he chooses to participate in the inquiry, directly or through counsel, as other presidents have done before him." The House is examining whether Trump improperly pushed Ukraine to launch investigations that might benefit him politically.

Reuters

2. Trump blasts impeachment inquiry in Florida 'homecoming' rally

President Trump on Tuesday blasted Democrats over the House impeachment hearings during a campaign-style "homecoming" rally in Florida, his newly adopted home state. He told thousands of cheering supporters the inquiry was a "scam." Trump called the impeachment proceedings "bulls--t," prompting the crowd to chant the expletive over and over. "They're attacking me because I'm exposing a rigged system that enriched itself at your expense and I'm restoring government of, by, and for the people," Trump said. "The radical Democrats are trying to overturn the last election because they know that they cannot win the next election." Outside the arena, protesters inflated a "Baby Trump" balloon, and chanted "lock him up," while Trump supporters shouted "four more years."

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Politico Sun Sentinel

3. Budget official: 2 staffers quit, objecting to Ukraine aid hold

White House budget official Mark Sandy told lawmakers earlier this month that two staffers resigned over the agency's handling of security aid to Ukraine, according to a transcript of his testimony released Tuesday. Sandy, who appeared before House impeachment investigators on Nov. 16, was the first and so far only Office of Management and Budget employee to testify. Witnesses in the impeachment inquiry have said President Trump held $400 million in aid to Ukraine to pressure Ukraine to investigate Democrats. Sandy did not name the employees, but said one expressed frustration "about not understanding the reason for the hold." The other, he said, had a "dissenting opinion" about whether it was legal under the Impoundment Control Act to withhold aid approved by Congress.

The Washington Post

4. Judge blocks Trump policy requiring immigrants to show health coverage

A federal judge in Oregon on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from denying visas to immigrants who can't show proof of health insurance. President Trump's policy requires visa applicants to verify they'll have health coverage within 30 days of entry, or show they can "pay for reasonably foreseeable medical costs." Judge Michael Simon said the policy was "inconsistent" with the Immigration and Nationality Act. Simon had already temporary prevented the Trump administration from enforcing the policy. His new ruling puts it on hold until a lawsuit challenging the policy as a new form of "family separation" works its way through the courts.

CNN

5. Baltimore students boo Melania Trump during anti-drug speech

A crowd of students in Baltimore booed first lady Melania Trump as she gave a speech on youth opioid abuse. "I'm in this fight for you, and I'm fighting for you," Mrs. Trump said. The mixed reception, which also included cheers, came four months after President Trump criticized Baltimore as a "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess" where "no human being would want to live." The comment was perceived as a swipe at the late Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat who was a frequent Trump critic. After returning to the White House, Mrs. Trump defended the students' right to express themselves. "We live in a democracy and everyone is entitled to their opinion," she said, but "I remain committed to educating children on the dangers and deadly consequences of drug abuse."

The New York Times CNBC

6. Trump says U.S. and China near trade deal

President Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. and China were getting close to working out a "phase one" deal to end their trade war. Trump's comment came after the top negotiators for the world's two biggest economies agreed over the phone to continue discussing ways to resolve lingering differences. "We're in the final throes of a very important deal, I guess you could say one of the most important deals in trade ever. It's going very well but at the same time we want to see it go well in Hong Kong," Trump said, referring to ongoing pro-democracy protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese-ruled city. Trump said he expected Chinese President Xi Jinping to embrace a positive resolution to the crisis in Hong Kong, where pro-democracy candidates trounced pro-Beijing parties in Sunday's elections.

Reuters

7. Trump denies sending Giuliani to Ukraine

President Trump on Tuesday denied sending his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to Ukraine in order to dig up damaging information on his political rivals. "No, I didn't direct him, but he is a warrior, he is a warrior," Trump told former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly in an interview streamed online. Giuliani has said he went to Ukraine for Trump to carry out an investigation "concerning 2016 Ukrainian collusion and corruption." O'Reilly asked Trump why Giuliani went to Ukraine, and the president responded, "You have to ask Rudy. Rudy has other clients, other than me. He's done a lot of work in Ukraine over the years." Several of the witnesses who testified in the impeachment inquiry said Giuliani was pursuing a shadow agenda to pressure Ukraine to investigate Democrats, including former Vice President Joe Biden.

Bloomberg

8. U.N. report: Greenhouse gas emissions must plunge to avoid climate crisis

To avoid a climate catastrophe, global greenhouse gas emissions must drop by 7.6 percent every year for the next decade, a new United Nations report warns. "Our collective failure to act early and hard on climate change means we must now deliver deep cuts to emissions," U.N. Environment Program Executive Director Inger Anderson said. "This shows that countries simply cannot wait." More and more areas of the world are already experiencing stronger hurricanes and heatwaves, and if global temperatures stay on track to rise by as much as 7 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century, the oceans will become more acidic and rising seas will threaten coastal cities. President Trump has rolled back many climate regulations, and after a few years of decline, U.S. CO2 emissions rose 2.7 percent in 2018.

The Guardian

9. Winter storms complicate Thanksgiving travel

The National Weather Service has warned that much of the U.S., from California to Michigan, is facing extreme winter weather that could trouble Thanksgiving travelers. Flights were canceled in Denver, one of several cities already facing heavy snowfall on Tuesday. Cheyenne, Wyoming, got a foot of snow, while elevated areas outside Fort Collins, Colorado, got 30 inches. The storm is expected to dump up to a foot of snow on some areas by Thursday as it moves across the Plains to the Upper Mississippi Valley, the Upper Great Lakes, and into northern Maine. The harshest storm is hitting Oregon and Northern California overnight into early Wednesday, and it could intensify quickly as a "bomb cyclone" with hurricane-force winds.

NPR Bloomberg

10. Trump mocks Democrats during traditional turkey pardoning

President Trump mocked House impeachment investigators on Tuesday as he held the traditional Thanksgiving turkey pardoning. Trump singled out House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff as the target of a joke as he prepared to pardon the North Carolina-bred turkeys Bread and Butter, saying the birds were raised to "remain calm under any condition," which he said would be "very important because they've already received subpoenas to appear in Adam Schiff's basement on Thursday." Trump, who has claimed to barely know impeachment witnesses including Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, said to the turkeys that "unlike previous witnesses, you and I have actually met. It's very unusual."

The Associated Press